


explosive

by lenardo_09



Series: Cryptage Week - 2020 [1]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26701048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lenardo_09/pseuds/lenardo_09
Summary: Elliott reflects a little on the first day he met Tae Joon.
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: Cryptage Week - 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943077
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	explosive

**Author's Note:**

> First entry for Cryptage week!! Here's to hoping I can maintain enough motivation to continue. ;0;

“Y'know, it's been awhile since you've joined the games.”

Park’s gaze moved over to where Elliott was, relaxing against the terminal of the decommissioned train. The hacker hated to admit it, but there were some…  _ memories _ attached to the once beloved drop spot for everyone. It was where he managed to “steal all three of Mirage’s kills” and even save his ass— _ twice.  _ Elliott was still just a tad salty about the stolen kills, and he'd gently shove the hacker whenever he mentioned the “old man” being saved by the “little kid.”

_ “You're older and you still act like a brat!” _

Park was almost sad to see it in pieces, scattered randomly along the tracks it once raced along. 

“Mm. I suppose it has been quite some time.”

“You stole all of my kills.”

“I believe you're just slow.”

A scoff. “Me? Slow? I'm not being called ‘slow’ by the kid that runs with his hands in his pockets. That's not aerodym—dy—name— _ aerodynamic,  _ you know.” Elliott pushes himself off of the wall then, a hand raising and making random gestures that Park had given up on deciphering since their second conversation. “How do you not even fall over? The universe needs to humble you by making you eat shit.”

Park snorts. “What a strange thing to get angry about.”

Elliott opens his mouth, prepared to retort, but he, for once, falls silent, and returns to his spot against the terminal. Park opts to take a quick glance around the area, making sure no teams were about to jump them. The area was relatively empty, so they were safe. 

The match had been relatively quiet so far. They had landed in the area the Mirage Voy’age had been, and they had been able to loot without worry. They couldn't win the match with the supplies they had, but it was standard loot, the essentials out of the way. Elliott complained about only having white shields. Park just wanted ammo. 

Eventually, they began moving outward, heading towards Lava Fissure in hopes it hadn't been looted, moving along the tracks in a strangely slow-paced walk, as if they weren't fending for their lives in a bloodsport. Elliott kept glancing over at his partner, and, eventually, the hacker spoke up. 

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

“Oh—uh, sorry. I just… I was just thinking about the train, y’know?”

That was… odd. “I hadn't realized you were so attached.”

“Kind of? Well, I'm thinking more about… w-when you, y'know, sorta saved me from exploding. Y'know, when you… broke your rib.”

Ah. Park remembered that part vividly. He remembered landing wrong, remembered the pain exploding in his ribs as soon as his body made contact with the ground. There was a sickening  _ crack _ and his vision flickered for a moment, nausea settling in, but he managed to pick himself up. Elliott had… actually seemed worried about him, panic in his voice as he asked what happened, why the hacker had just been a crumpled pile on the ground. 

They managed to get into Capitol, hiding out and awaiting Ajay’s return. When she eventually arrived, she couldn't do much aside from let D.O.C. heal them up as best she could. 

“I remember that,” Park responded, opening a supply bin on one of the train cars. “Why are you thinking about it now?”

“Well, it's just—y’know, the broken train’s just… got me thinking, is all, about… well, you and me!” Elliott shrugged, stepping beside Park to look into the contents. A shield cell, a helmet, and some heavy ammo, which the hacker promptly shoved into his backpack. “We've kinda gotten along better, yeah?”

“I suppose.”

“Don't give me that. I totally know you were the one that left that note about my cooking.”

Park tensed, an immediate giveaway, before immediately moving past the trickster and hurrying off to Lava Fissure. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Elliott could give him credit—at least his voice remained steady. He followed after the shorter male, smirking. “I've seen your handwriting—when you were writing notes for me, working on equipment together and sharing ideas.”

Park sighed, knowing full well he was caught. 

“You have cute handwriting.”

“ _ Quiet, Witt. _ ”

A laugh left the man, gently nudging the man’s shoulder with his own. “You're a total softy. Just admit it.” 

“No.”

“So cruel, kid. I'm wounded.”

“Was there a point to bringing this up?”

Elliott shrugged, tapping his fingers together in that manner Park had grown rather fond of. It was… a strangely  _ Elliott _ gesture to make. It almost made the hacker smile. 

Almost. 

“ _ Well, _ ” Elliott began, now looking towards the mountains surrounding them, “I… never really got to thank you… for sorta saving me—o-on the train, I mean.”

“Don't be stupid—”

“Not stupid—”

“ _ Witt, _ I don't need a ‘thank you.’”

“Then how about dinner?”

Park stopped walking entirely, Elliott turning to face him to properly gauge his reaction. There was no denying the surprise in his features, but at least he didn't look angry or upset, just confused—which he supposed was fair, considering the question was sprung up out of seemingly nowhere. 

Now. Elliott had been with a lot of people. Some were good, and some were awful… Most were awful. A good portion were awful—okay, he hasn't exactly had a lot of good and steady relationships, but he feels like it was because most of them wanted  _ Mirage, _ not  _ Elliott.  _ His flashy persona was, to him, far more desirable. He was perceived as perfect, faultless, happy. People wanted  _ that— _ they didn't want nights woken up by Elliott’s tossing and turning in bed, the occasional moment where the man had nightmares so vivid and realistic he thought he was back  _ there,  _ fighting for his life. 

People didn't want that, so they left him. Left him alone. Just as he always had been. 

But Park—there was something different about him, he could tell. He met Mirage and hated him. Then he met Elliott, and he stayed. In fact, one could argue Park actually quite liked being around Elliott, but the hacker wouldn't admit that, because he was  _ stubborn.  _

“You're messing with me,” Park stated simply, a frown now crossing his expression. 

“I'm not.” It was said with a strange amount of honesty, which, frankly, the hacker wasn't all that accustomed to. “Look, kid, I  _ do _ like you. Like, a lot. You're… one of the people who wanted to stick around after you learned about…  _ me. _ ”

Park was quiet for a moment, contemplating. 

“I-It's cool if you don't  _ want _ to. I'm not saying you  _ have  _ to and my feelings sh-shouldn't infu—infl—influn—influence your choice. I-I just… also want to keep friends i-if you don't  _ want to— _ totally up to you—”

“Sure.”

“… S-Sure—Sure what?”

“I'll go out to dinner with you.”

“… Oh—Oh! You—You actually want to?”

Park nodded. “I'm not… good with this—the dating thing. I've tried it, and it always ended poorly.”

No-shows, ghosting, walking out within the first ten minutes—dating had proved to be more of a waste of time than anything. Him and his partners never really clicked, and some of them just… didn't like him all that much. Mila had tried helping him as much as he could, but he supposed it was simply something he wasn't made for. And he was fine with that. 

And then Elliott came along, and he started feeling…  _ things.  _ Annoying things that made him nervous and anxious, pits forming in his stomach and second-guessing everything he said, thought, and knew. But he wanted to try, to learn, even if his circumstances are… less than desirable.  _ They've  _ taken so much away from him already—it was time he took it all back. 

It was selfish, putting the man in so much danger, but he'll tell him someday. If things go well… he deserves to know. 

“It's okay! I'm a dating professional.” At Park’s disbelieving look, Elliott scoffed. “Don't look at me like that. I already know where to take you: dinner at home, candles and rose petals laid out, the lighting low and quiet music playing in the background.”

The hacker hated to admit that was an attractive thought. “A bit cliché.”

“I'm all about the clichés, babe.”

“I had a feeling.”

“So… that sound good?”

“… Yes. I'd like that.”

“Nice, cool—we should get going.”

“Right.”

And as the two continued walking along the path of the abandoned railway, Park’s hand absentmindedly ran along the decommissioned train. How strange just a moment on an exploding train would continue making sparks even when it was gone, an abandoned remnant of his first day in a new life. 


End file.
